December 1995
Calvin Warburton
The Libertarian Party noted with sorrow the death of Calvin Warburton,
the former state representative in New Hampshire who made history by leaving the
Republican Party in 1991 to join the Libertarian Party.
Warburton, 85, died Oct. 18.
"In years to come, when the Libertarian Party elects a Libertarian president, Congress, and Senate, we'll look back and realize that what Cal did in 1991 was a vital stepping stone on our road to success. For that, we owe him a debt of thanks," said LP Director of Communications Bill Winter, who was the state chair in New Hampshire when Warburton joined the party.
National LP Chair Steve Dasbach agreed. "Cal Warburton took the bold step of leaving the Republican Party and joining the Libertarian Party long before it became fashionable to wear the libertarian label," he said. "He was an inspiration to the hundreds of Libertarians seeking public office each year, and a role model to those in office. When the Libertarian Party becomes the majority party in America, it will be because of heroes like Cal Warburton who were willing to act on their convictions."
After serving seven terms as a GOP state legislator, Warburton publicly announced on July 16, 1991, that he was leaving the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party.
"I have joined the Libertarian Party because it is the party of freedom -- economic freedom, personal freedom, social freedom, and judicial freedom," Warburton announced at a press conference in the Legislative Office Building in Concord, NH.
His defection to the LP earned Warburton national attention as the first Libertarian state legislator in the lower 48 states. (Three Libertarians were elected to the Alaska House in the early 1980s.)
When he made the switch at age 81, Warburton had been a Republican for 50 years.
As a Libertarian, Warburton immediately filed a bill to allow property tax abatements for parents who sent their children to private schools, and a bill to require the state government to divest of private businesses. However, outnumbered 399 to 1 in the NH House, his efforts were defeated by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats.
Warburton was re-elected to the state legislature in 1992 as part of a four-man Libertarian delegation, serving with Don Gorman, Finlay Rothhaus, and Andy Borsa. He represented Raymond and Epping, and was reappointed to the House Constitution and Statutory Revision Committee.
In his second term as a Libertarian, Warburton filed a bill to curb the soaring spending in the state's Executive Department and co-sponsored a bill to repeal a business tax increase introduced by the Republican governor. Again, both bills were shot down by a unified front of Republicans and Democrats.
Warburton declined to run for state representative again in 1994, and instead ran, unsuccessfully, for the Libertarian Party's nomination for governor.
He previously had run for the Libertarian gubernatorial nomination in 1992, coming in second to Miriam Luce.
Even out of public office, however, Warburton remained active in the LPNH. He urged the party to "be organized at the grassroot level in every town," and offered to speak at any Libertarian organizing meeting anywhere in the state. He provided counsel and advice to LP candidates, even volunteering to work the polls for them on election day.
"He was a gentleman of the old school," said Winter. "He brought dignity and common sense to our party, and valuable experience to our political strategy meetings. He was a cornerstone of our success in New Hampshire and will be remembered as an important part of the history of the Libertarian Party."
The day after his passing, New Hampshire Gov. Steve Merrill lauded Warburton for his "wisdom and color and humor."
House Democratic Leader Rick Trombly described Warburton as "an honest man of true integrity who will be missed."
Warburton had a degree in theology from Boston University. Before his election to the NH House, he served as an Army chaplain for 11 years, and as a Methodist minister in Kansas, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
The funeral was Oct. 21, at the United Methodist Church in Raymond, NH.
